A suspect has been charged with the shooting of a Harris County Sheriff's patrol deputy outside a nightclub on the northeast side early Monday.

Oscar Ponce Perez, 25, is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on a public servant, a sheriff's office spokesman said. Perez is accused of wounding Deputy Gerald Barnes, 39, a 15-year Harris County Sheriff's Office veteran, who was listed in stable condition at Memorial Hermann Hospital with a bullet wound to the base of his throat.

Another man taken into custody with Perez was determined to be another victim of the violence and played no role in the deputy's shooting.

That man, Miguel Soto, had been abducted at gunpoint as Perez tried to flee the nightclub, authorities said.

Soto was shot in the liver, and was listed in critical condition late Monday at Ben Taub General Hospital.

The gunfire stemmed from an altercation outside the Safari Nightclub in the 8800 block of East Mount Houston near Mesa Road.

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The incident began when Perez, of the 11800 block of Green Glen, discovered his stereo had been stolen from his Chevrolet Tahoe while it was parked outside the bar, sheriff's Lt. John Martin said.

Perez had walked out of the club to see Soto climbing out of the Tahoe and saw that his stereo had been ripped from the dashboard, sheriff's officials said. Believing Soto was responsible for the break-in, Perez held him at gunpoint and fired his gun into the air, Martin said.

Callers notified the sheriff's office of the gunfire about 1:30 a.m.

Perez then forced Soto into his Tahoe and tried to drive away with him in an attempt to retrieve the stolen car stereo, sheriff's officials said. Barnes arrived at the nightclub at 1:38 a.m. as the Tahoe was leaving the parking lot.

Witnesses pointed out the Tahoe and Barnes tried to stop the vehicle. Perez stepped out of the vehicle, but refused the deputy's orders to get on the ground, Martin said.

Perez is accused of shooting several times at Barnes, striking the deputy just above his clavicle and his bulletproof vest.

Two minutes after he had arrived, Barnes radioed dispatchers that he had been shot. He reported that his attacker was heading westbound on East Mount Houston.

Other deputies were close behind the fleeing truck, which then went north on Urban Street, a dead-end road. The Tahoe became stuck in a ditch when the driver tried to turn around.

Another altercation then took place between Perez and Soto at the dead-end street, and Soto was shot once in the abdomen, Martin said. Perez surrendered immediately when deputies closed in, Martin said, but Soto at some point ran into a wooded area.

He was found hiding behind a house and was rushed to the hospital, Martin said.

Evidence suggests that about 40 rounds may have been fired outside the nightclub, Martin said. The bullet that struck the deputy traveled through his body and exited beneath his arm.

"He was very lucky. Very lucky," Homicide Division Lt. John Denholm said.